The removable crumb tray made it easy to clean up the crumbs, though we still had to tilt the oven to get the last of them. Unfortunately, after our Whole Roasted Chicken test, the baking pan accumulated some discoloration that we weren’t able to remove even with a paste of baking soda and water. A. Hamilton Beach toaster ovens are known for their reliability and even cooking, so you needn’t be concerned. That said, when baking rather than toasting, you’re likely to get more even results by using the convection function instead of the regular baking function. We look for a crumb tray that slides out smoothly and that is easily accessible. For toaster ovens, most have a non-stick interior for easier cleaning.
With multiple cooking features, innovative technology, automatic shut off, thirty minute timer, and a spacious interior, this was an amazing option at an affordable price. A black pan can be used for roasting, baking, or catching drippings when using the rotisserie. A smaller silver pan and a coordinating broiler rack can be used for roasting small foods as well as for baking.
The baking pan is correctly sized to keep messy food from dripping directly onto the heating elements. It slides into the brackets on the baking rack’s underside, so it’s a perfect fit. Unfortunately, though it has a coating, it isn’t completely non-stick so it can accumulate some stains after a tough roasting mission. We could fit four slices of toast, a 9-inch pizza but we could barely fit a 3 lb chicken inside the Mueller, unlike the same-sized Breville BOV450XL.
If you’ve never used a toaster oven, the first thing you need to know is that it’s not a toaster. Mind you, you can make toast with it, but that’s hardly its only use or even the primary one. Depending on the household, it can fill a surprisingly wide gap between the microwave and a traditional oven. Need your snacks warmed up quickly, but hate that microwave sogginess? Need your potatoes, pies or side dishes baked while your main course is taking up the oven?
The Hamilton beach has three contoured control knobs labeled Temperature, Function, and Timer which are durable and easy to grip. While the timer only runs from 1 minute to 30 minutes, the knob has a stay-on position as well. What stands out most is the roll-top door with a cool-touch handle. It moves up and out of the way, giving you safe and easy access to your food before, during, and after cooking. We initially set the toast knob to Medium—right at the Toast icon—for our Toast test. The bread came away very dark on the bottom but barely toasted on top.
The timer on our upgrade pick, the Breville Pro, also begins counting down once the oven is preheated. However, it will pause the timer when you open the oven door, whereas the Cuisinart doesn’t. However, after the chicken test, there were burnt bits stuck to the upper heating element’s guard and grease on the cooking chamber’s ceiling. There was ample space between the ceiling and the upper heating element, so we proceed to try every cleaning method possible.
Toasting, baking, and broiling — a quality toaster oven can do it all, and when you’re searching for quality at an affordable price, look no further than a hamilton beach. When you want to make perfect toast, and plenty of it, it’s easy to toast six or more slices of bread at once in a toaster oven. But if more than just toast takes your fancy, all Hamilton Beach toaster ovens can bake and broil, and some have even more cooking functions, such as air frying and convection cooking.
The Hamilton Beach Air Fryer Sure Crisp Toaster Oven is considerably smaller and less expensive than the other models we tested. It doesn’t sport electronic controls or a lot of fancy features and settings. While it’s baking performance was disappointing and hamilton beach air fryer it’s not large enough to roast a chicken, it shines at toasting and does a credible job of air frying. We received this toaster oven a couple years ago as a Christmas gift. It is a great size, fits nicely on our counter top, and does a great job of cooking.